[lamp210]

Hello, I’ve seen some articles and different posts about people putting extra ground wires from their motor to their chassis and battery to the ground. Is that something we should do with these cars is it necessary? I suppose if you start having electrical gremlins?? anyway just looking for some thoughts on this if I should do it or not thanks. PS I have no gremlins as of yet.

[ZLRob]

The answer is always extra grounds, especially when you are talking about a vehicle whose battery lives in the back of the vehicle and has to send juice the entire length of the vehicle over to the starter at the front. Two large 4 gauge grounds should do it as far as how many to add and you can easily buy prefabbed battery wiring/ ground cables at AutoZone or O'Reilly for dirt cheap.


Get to it muchacho. Your car and your starter will thank you for it.

[lamp210]

ok well thats all i neede to hear! off to thre parts store
thanks.

[lamp210]

ook with all that above said , what would be the best way to tackle this ? extray ground from batt to chassie and also ground from engine block to chassie
?, possibily from the groung term on the front under hood ?

[p47dman]

Where you put the ground, I like to use star washer under lug, they will bite into lug and paint on the frame and give an excellent connection.

[ZLRob]

Ground from chassis to bolt at the factory catch can/ PCV set-up on engine


Ground from battery to chassis right by trunk main fuse box

[lamp210]

So a good place to pick up a ground would be the ground lug under the hood by the fuse box correct from there to the engine block, correct?

[ZLRob]

Originally Posted by lamp210

So a good place to pick up a ground would be the ground lug under the hood by the fuse box correct from there to the engine block, correct?

To the exact location I highlighted for you. Don't reinvent the wheel here. Ground lug to pcv catch can set up outermost bolt. Quick, easy, effective.

[djctoto]

As a former Electrical Engineer I would like to offer the following general insight about electrical circuits that pertains to this thread.

Contrary to most intuitive thinking the ground path for a robust electrical connection is equally or even more important than the positive. While chassis grounds are often used the most effective grounding occurs in a 12v automotive application when the ground for a given circuit it tied directly back to the battery. This is why a Holley ECU and others must be connected both positive and negative directly to the battery and no where else.

This isn't often a viable solution for all circuits so chassis grounds are commonly used. In this case the use of a larger than needed gauge wire secured to bare metal is the best bet.

Running a short 2 or 4 gauge wire with properly crimped on terminals from the engine to the chassis is never a bad idea.

Also a crimped on terminal connection is preferred over soldered in automotive applications since solder stiffens the wire making it more susceptible to breaking from vibrations.

[lamp210]

zlrob,, thanks for your input but i can not locate said catch can bolt 2024 zl1? but i did manage to use the lower idler bolt witch trreads into the block i should be good to go
thanks again

[Owl3]

Wouldn't multiple ground points give the potential for ground loops?

[djctoto]

Originally Posted by Owl3

Wouldn't multiple ground points give the potential for ground loops?

Yes this can be a concern.
But mostly when dealing with low voltage or low amperage level sensitive signals.

For what's been discussed here which is replacing of supplementing the main engine ground it shouldn't be a concern to cause any problems.

[dreksnot]

Originally Posted by ZLRob

Ground from chassis to bolt at the factory catch can/ PCV set-up on engine

Ground from battery to chassis right by trunk main fuse box

Riddle me this: The bolt fastener at the factory catch can is semi-conductive (GM’s reason? - maybe to reduce heat conduction from it through the sleeve to the plastic factory catch can). Yes, it’s oxidized but even after digging the Fluke probe tips through that, the resistance reading is no lower than 10-30 ohms. So, heading to the hardware store to get a bolt that’s a better conductor. Using this location only requires an 18” ground cable to anchor at the negative jump post on the chassis.

[lamp210]

can you post a pic of that location?